During a period of illness in the late 2010s and encouraged by too many George Clarke renovation programmes, Pete and Emma started to discuss a project of our own.
In September 2018 we headed south to view our first property in Ticino, the Italian speaking southern canton of Switzerland. This one wasn't to be, however, it was the start of a love affair with Val di Blenio (Val di Sole). From then on our search gravitated towards The Valley, specifically Aquila and Ponto Valentino.
We found "our place" late in 2019 and completed the purchase at the start of 2020. It was (and still is) a significant project. We are working with limited funds so are trying to do as much of the work ourselves as possible.
To be closer to the house and in an attempt to get more done we moved to Ticino. Our target completion date had already passed and we're rapidly heading towards a firm deadline of September '27 when Pete will retire. We moved to Lugano, a beautiful city. Living here is like being on vacation every day. In 2026 we purchased an apartment in the city. A place for us to stay after we move to The Valley and to provide some vacation rental income in the future.
Our vision is to develop a vacation rental business in Ticino and share our love for Ticino with guests.
